Rurouni's Disciple
by Bread-Making-Viking
Summary: When the ex-Jupponkatana member decides to become 'Rurouni Soujirou', whose expert tutelage does he seek out? Kenshin's of course! Meanwhile, Sanosuke and Kaoru have their doubts and ... why is Yahiko so disturbed?


Rurouni's Disciple

(Soujirou)

by kougayurizoku

The weary traveler paused, removing the straw hat that shielded him from the sun's powerful rays, and lifted his fist to knock at the front gate with a smile. He'd come all this way for a purpose: to learn more about the great Rurouni he looked up to and to ask him to make him his disciple.

His fist lowered as uncertainty flooded his senses. He'd recited exactly what he would say to convince him, but now he was unsure… What if he still counted him as one of his menacing enemies? What if…

No.

He shook his head resolutely. He had to do this. There was no other way, so giving up was not an option. With a confident grin, he raised his fist to knock once again, but was surprised when the door flew open before he could even touch it.

A young woman blinked up at him in surprise and took a step back in alarm, accidentally dropping the bag she had been holding. "Can I help you?" she asked warily, glancing behind her anxiously, most likely checking to see if her red-haired hero was there or not.

"Would you be so kind as to direct this humble Rurouni to Himura-san's whereabouts?" he asked, smiling warmly down at her.

"Oh, um…this way, please." She said, turning slowly and walking toward the house. "Are you a friend of Kenshin's?" she asked hesitantly. The traveler smiled. How her protective actions were reminding him of Yumi-san's! If he told her no, she would no doubt tell him to leave out of protection for his role-model.

"Yes," he answered simply.

The young woman nodded, flinging open the door. "Kenshin!" she shouted.

"Hai, Kaoru-dono?" he asked gently, peeking around the corner of the kitchen, only to jump back in surprise. "Oh, do we have a visitor?" he asked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"Ohayou, Himura-san! Long time no see!" The gleeful 'visitor' shouted with a bright smile.

"ORO?!"

"Oi, Jou-chan, Kenshin, what's all the fuss about?" Sanosuke asked, strolling around the corner from the kitchen with an onigiri snack in his bandaged right hand, which was quickly shoved into his greedy mouth. "NANI?!" he spluttered, sending pieces of rice flying all over the place. "What's HE doing here?!"

"Who…?" Kaoru began to ask, looking at their guest curiously as she tried to remember whether or not she'd met him before.

Kenshin took a deep breath, unsure of whether he should glare at him or not. His face was a mixture of a smile and a frown when he replied, "Shishio Makoto's head of the Juppongatana…Seta Soujirou."

"S-Soujirou?!" Kaoru frowned and darted away from him to stand by Kenshin's side. Glancing sidelong at Kenshin, she swallowed worriedly. She'd heard all about Kenshin's fight with Soujirou and had seen the effect of his _shukuchi_ on Kenshin's back. He would carry another scar for the rest of his life because of this young man. Tears threatened to spill over her eyelids as unwanted memories of Kyoto came flooding back to her. When Kenshin had returned from the battle against Shishio and his men, he was almost dead…

"What do you _really_ want from Kenshin?" she demanded, scowling her fiercest.

Soujirou smiled his gentlest in return. "I can see that you're still holding a grudge against me for what happened in Kyoto," he said.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to be very close to Himura-san," he observed. At Kaoru's blush, he nodded and continued, "You must have been very worried about him, then. I am very sorry to have caused you pain, all of you," he said with a bow. The smile never left his face.

Kenshin smiled in return. "What can this one do for you, Soujirou…-dono," he asked, ignoring Kaoru's look of shock.

"Kenshin! I don't care what he says, Smiley here still gives me the creeps!" Sano shouted, frowning at his red-haired friend. Kaoru nodded in agreement.

Kenshin ignored them both and continued to smile at their guest. "Why has Soujirou-dono traveled all the way to the Kamiya Dojo, this one wonders?" he asked, polite confusion donning his features.

Soujirou's ever-present smile faltered a bit as his nerves threatened to send him running out the door behind him. With the last of his resolve, he lowered himself to one knee, positioning himself in front of the lavender-eyed rurouni.

"Soujirou-dono…?" Kenshin began to ask.

WHAM. A sweat-covered Yahiko (having just finished his training) slid open the shoji to the kitchen in search of lunch. "Hey, guys, what's-?" His question died on his lips upon seeing a strange young man kneeling in front of Kenshin with a determined look in his eyes.

'I've got a bad feeling about this…'

Soujirou ignored the new presence, however, and concentrated on the difficult task that lay before him. With a fresh bout of confidence, he took Kenshin's hand in his own and looked him pleadingly in the eyes.

"Himura-san, would you do this unworthy one the great honor…"

WHAM. Yahiko slammed the shoji shut again.

'_Oh, Kami, I was right!'_

Kaoru was distracted momentarily by the sound of hastily retreating footsteps, closely followed by a curious retching sound, but quickly regained her concentration with a scowl at the sight of Kenshin's hand being squeezed by Soujirou's.

"…of making this one your disciple?"

"WHAT?!" Kaoru and Sano exclaimed in unison.

Kenshin blinked in surprise. "This one's… disciple?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.

Soujirou nodded excitedly.

Extracting his hand from his former opponent's, Kenshin sighed. "This one is truly sorry, Soujirou-dono, however, as this one has told Yahiko countless times before, this one has no intention of passing on Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu to anyone else."

Standing to his feet, Soujirou laughed. "That's good, Himura-san, because _this_ one had no intention of learning it!"

"Oro?"

Sano frowned. "Hang on, Smiley. Didn't you just ask Kenshin if…?"

Soujirou's laughter cut him off. "No, no! This one wishes to become Himura-san's _disciple_, not his _student_."

Kaoru nodded. _'So that's why he's talking like Kenshin.'_

A very confused Sanosuke scratched his head and raised an eyebrow at Shishio Makoto's former right-hand man. "What's the difference?" he asked.

Soujirou sighed. "In order to find my answer, I must become a Rurouni like Himura-san," he explained, forgetting to belittle himself in his haste to elaborate. "But… I have no idea of what a Rurouni _does_ exactly. So, I've decided to study Himura-san's noble lifestyle!"

Sano smirked. "What's so noble about doing the laundry?" he asked, nimbly dodging Kaoru's attack.

'_Laundry?'_ Soujirou thought curiously. Before he could inquire further into Sanosuke's comment, however, the scent of overdone rice invaded his senses. "Oh, please excuse this one, ma'am, but is something burning?" he asked, turning toward Kaoru. To his great surprise, it was not the woman who mourned over the ruined food.

"Oh!" Kenshin exclaimed, whirling around and dashing toward their cooking lunch.

'He does the cooking, too?!'

"Let this one help you with that," Soujirou said, walking toward his intended master. Together, they salvaged what they could and threw out the rest.

Glancing at the meager portion they were able to save, Kenshin sighed. "Well, it can't be helped. This one is going to have to start all over again."

Sanosuke groaned. "Aw, man! Kenshin you've got to be kidding me, I'm starving here! I think I'd even stoop to eating some of Jou-chan's cooking now, I'm so hungry!"

"What was that?! You have no right to complain, you lousy freeloader!" Kaoru growled.

Kenshin smiled apologetically. "Gomen, Sano. This one will get started right away," he said, already gathering the various ingredients he would need to duplicate the recipe again.

"Oh, please allow this one to assist you, Himura-san," Soujirou asked, stepping forward to stand beside him.

Kenshin's eyes widened and he lifted his hands palm-up in protest. "Soujirou-dono, this one could never ask you to-"

Soujirou shook his head obstinately and cut him off mid-sentence with a protest of his own. "No, Himura-san, it's this one's fault that the food was ruined in the first place. And besides, this one must learn from you as soon as possible. This one's training starts now!" He announced with a smile.

Sano frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oi, Smiley, Kenshin never agreed to give you any kind of 'training,' you know."

Soujirou ignored him and instead began to help Kenshin prepare lunch. Kenshin decided not to argue with the younger man since Sanosuke was famished and four hands were better than two. With Soujirou's help, lunch was finished within a matter of only a few minutes. Everyone (with the exception of Yahiko, who had mysteriously disappeared) sat down and ate together, gratitude for the long-awaited meal shining on their smiling faces.

Swallowing the last bite of his onigiri with a sip of tea, Kenshin stood up. "Well, now that lunch is over, this one should start the laundry." Kaoru smiled up at him and Sano rolled his eyes. Soujirou brushed off his mouth and hurriedly followed Kenshin outside.

After observing him kneel over the water and add the soap to the small basin, Soujirou knelt across from him and set to work. A few moments passed before Kenshin frowned and glared at the water below him. Noticing the shift in the usually docile Rurouni's attitude, Soujirou glanced up at him curiously.

"Himura-san, is something wrong?" he asked.

Kenshin swirled his hand around the basin. "This water needs more soap," he said.

Soujirou nodded. "Allow this one, Himura-san."

Kenshin smiled and surrendered the soap to his partner. "Yes, that's perfect!" he said as Soujirou finished pouring the correct amount of extra soap into the laundry tub. Twenty minutes later, Soujirou had helped him hang the laundry up to dry under the warm sun.

"What's next, Himura-san?" Soujirou asked, an eager smile on his face.

Kenshin thought for a moment, tapping his finger against his chin in concentration. "Hmm… This one should prepare the bath for Kaoru-dono now; she should be finished practicing right about now." Soujirou nodded and joined Kenshin in walking toward the bathhouse.

A few chores later found the two of them relaxing on the porch and staring peacefully out at the trees ahead of them.

"So…" Soujirou began, turning his head to address the older man. "Being a Rurouni sure is exhausting work, isn't it?" he asked.

Kenshin nodded and smiled. "Yes, but it's worth it," he said, looking beyond his former enemy at the young woman who was walking toward them with a tray in her hands.

Kaoru knelt beside Kenshin, a happy smile on her face as she passed him a cup of water.

He smiled warmly at her in gratitude. "Arigatou, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru nodded and passed the second cup to Soujirou, who nodded his thanks to her.

After a few gulps, Soujirou finished drinking and placed the empty cup beside him on the wooden porch. Smiling over at the two people seated next to him, he stood up and stepped off the veranda. "Well, Himura-san, it's about time for this one to take his leave."

Kenshin blinked, wide-eyed and surprised. "Are you sure you don't wish to stay the night, Soujirou-dono?" he asked.

"Yes," Kaoru agreed, just as shocked as Kenshin was. "The sun is almost down."

Soujirou smiled at them both. "Thank you for the offer, but this one is sure. If this one wishes to become a Rurouni, he should get started right away!"

Kenshin nodded with a gentle smile. "What will you do, Soujirou-dono?" he asked.

Soujirou thought for a moment. "Well, this one supposes the first step must be to move into a cozy dojo and fall in love with the assistant instructor, right Himura-san?"

Kenshin's only response was to blush furiously.

Soujirou smiled. "And after that, well… this one will see. You never know- perhaps the government will request this one's assistance in defeating a madman aspiring to take over the country!" He laughed. "Although," he said, tapping his finger against his chin thoughtfully, "a Sakabatou should be acquired first. Anyway, sayonara, Himura-san and thank you or everything!" he finished with a bow and a smile.

And then he was at the gate, disappearing into the sunset.

"So Smiley's finally leaving, is he?" Sano asked, stepping out onto the porch.

Kaoru nodded. "He is."

Sano smirked. "Good. I didn't think I'd be able to handle havin' _two_ Rurouni's around here. Especially not a freak like him, right, Kenshin?… Oi, Jou-chan, what's wrong with Kenshin?"

**OWARI.**

A/N: I found this the other day, patched it up, and decided to post it. It was written for my challenge, but was never completed! As for an explanation for the story, um… no comment.


End file.
